Love's Strategy, A Game of Hide and Seek
by miikarin
Summary: Nagi is starting to see life at a different perspective, will he try to give life a second chance?
1. Life After

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**Title:** Love's Strategy - A Game of Hide and Seek  
**Author:** Hell's Dark Tenshi  
**E-mail:** hellsdarktenshi@hotmail.com  
**Disclaimer:** Does not belong to me  
**Warning:** Shounen-ai, violence later on  
**Summary:** Nagi is starting to see life at a different perspective, will he try to give life a second chance? And would he accept a friendship that could change his life around? Nagi POV  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Notes:** I know I have two stories on hold and I'm debating on finishing them, but this I'll definately finish. I'm trying my best on a good story line, please read and review!

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Chapter 1 - Life After 

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I stared at my laptop and frowned. I was researching for information about "Physics Applied in Space" and had just started to get annoyed at the lack of available knowledge. As much as I hate to admit it, Physics just isn't my subject; it played circles with my mind. 

Sighing dejectedly to myself, I closed the screen, stood up, and surveyed my surroundings with a calm face. Since when was the last time I had gone out of my room to go work outside willingly? It was just that lately the shadows in my room had grown so dark and I felt that they pushed me out. 

I shook my head, I was just being silly. I'd been spending too much time in my brightly lit classrooms with three feet tall windows overlooking streets. Right now, I was hungry, judging that I hadn't even eaten too much of a proper breakfast. 

As I headed to a small little shop near my school, I thought over my project and the scant information I had managed to gather. It must be because my mind wasn't really on the assignment. On any given day, I would probably turn up with at least 4 times more information, and I would also have finished the assignment the night before. 

I reached the shop's doors and went inside to stand in line. When it was my turn, I ordered a small sandwich and paid for it with some money I always had on myself. It didn't hurt to have money on hand, especially judging how my eating habits were sometimes off. I didn't eat much at appropriate times, so I would usually get a snack from here after school. 

Ah, school. I chose to go there on my own. I felt that all my actions were getting very monotone and utterly boring. Not that I had really minded, but I did think about it when I saw an advertisement about needing computer programming help at the school. 

I sat down at the corner of the shop, away from prying eyes and continued my mental review of the past two months. I had gone of course, mainly because it was away from my daily routine and it promised to occupy me for some while. It seemed the school just recently got some new computers the same time they got a new computer teacher. It also happened that the so called computer teacher knew even less that his students. 

Sarcastically, I thought that the teacher really helped the present situation. 

I took one look at the man's actions and knew that he was just trying to do something to the computers so that he could pathetically claim he had helped. He had just made things worse and proved to be an annoyance. That was until the man somehow suffered a concussion because of some computer tutorial books falling on him. It was the time that I had enough of the man and decided that I could do the man some courtesy and try to get what the books were teaching into his head. Literally. 

It was one of the reasons that I started attending the school. While the school hired another teacher for the students, and he knew much more than the last guy, he still didn't know enough. He could however, do some things without risking ruining work that I had done, also he had enough sense to say that what needed to be done was out of his league. 

The principal approached me after I was done working one day and asked if I would possibly be interested in attending his classes at the school so that it would be easier to access him during the day. 

I usually came in the afternoon when school was let out to give the pretense that I was attending school. I knew that if they found out that I wasn't attending school, it would just cause unnecessary hassle for Schwarz. I didn't think it would hurt to attend school for a change, so I started 1 month into the school year in Junior High Year 1. 

While many of my classmates wrote me off as the 'quiet kid' or the 'shy kid', some bothered to waste their time and tried to befriend me, to no avail of course. The girls had crowded around me the first lunch I was there. Come to think of it, they still did. Nothing I said could dissuade those girls, and it usually frustrated me because I had no interest in any of them. 

I noticed that I had finished my snack and headed outside. Unfortunately, not fast enough. One of the girls from the school noticed me and called a hello. I nodded in acknowledgement and continued outside. I didn't get more than a few steps when the girls caught up to me and started asking me questions. I really tried to get away but in the end, I ended up just answering their questions. 

I got away after fifteen minutes by telling them that I thought I saw one of their friends. I had never been good at speaking or groups and this was the one aspect of school that annoyed me to no end. I headed back to the house that Schwarz was currently staying in. 

Schwarz had decided that since most of the activity centered around this part of the city, we might as well get a house. The house was also conveniently located only ten minutes away from my school. Schwarz had been passed around to various of employers within the past few months and it was just getting tiring. 

Just like my daily routine, I decided. We had managed to get rid of the superiors of Estet, but now we were trying to get rid of all the loyal groups that might cause trouble if they figured out that Schwarz was responsible for the untimely demises of their bosses. Schuldig had been careful and sought out the people who had seen them so they could terminate those people before it was too late. For now, we pretended to be just as concerned about the future of Estet, even though we couldn't care less. 

There had been recent deaths within the groups that had not been the cause of Schwarz either. There were many that were fighting to have the right to lead the groups and there was heavy oppositions for all the parties. Some supported one party openly, which eventually led to their deaths by another group. It was because of this upheaval that the deaths caused by Schwarz remained unnoticed. While the groups wouldn't talk about the deaths in the gatherings they had, they were discussed privately, so we paid careful attention not to draw suspicions on ourselves. 

We did not support any group as far as the public eye could see, but then many were afraid of showing their support because they feared death. Estet was in chaos and Schwarz was just waiting for the perfect time to hammer at the center of the groups to cause them to be even more estranged from each other. Then we could relax when we were sure that the organization had been taken care of. 

Upon arriving home, I saw Crawford in his office sifting through some papers in a stack on his desk. I continued on my way to my room uninterested. Whatever he was looking for was Crawford's business and I didn't care to find out. 

Crawford had been choosing which groups to act upon. We had a long list of groups from Schuldig but we couldn't kill them all so suddenly. As Crawford said to Schuldig when he complained, "Patience will reap its own rewards." Obviously, Schuldig didn't think so because he just scowled and closed his eyes, choosing to play with a random mind that was near enough. 

After a while of thinking, I must have fallen asleep but was rudely awakened by the front door shutting. I was a light sleeper but it didn't help that the person also slammed the door. Probably Schuldig making his way in after a day spent partying and causing havoc of some sort. 

I noticed that the clock next to my bed read 9:14, I had fallen asleep for around two hours. Without really giving it a second thought, I decided to go back to sleep so that I might actually be able to pay attention in my Physics class, which was first in my daily schedule. It's no wonder I didn't understand it, I usually didn't get sleep because of my late nights with Schwarz. 

-~*~- 

When I woke up, I automatically shut my alarm clock and sat up. I always got up before my alarm clock, but I always set it as an assurance that I wouldn't oversleep one day. I got ready for school and headed down the stairs to eat some breakfast. While boiling tea, I cooked some eggs so that both of them would be done at the same time. Also because of the fact that tea is usually the only thing I drank besides water and eggs were one of the very few things I could cook without burning. 

After I finished my breakfast, I gathered my books and headed out the door, stopping only by Crawford's office to say "I'm going" then leaving. 

The walk to school was peaceful and I was glad that most of the kids that went to the school didn't live quite as near so they had to be driven or took the bus. This day though, a little kid just barely whizzed past me running hard and laughing, and of course the boy he was running from didn't miss me. Instead, he crashed into my back and caused both of us to fall over. 

Irritated, I pushed myself up and inspected my books. I paid no attention to the kid who was trying to find his glasses that were knocked aside. I almost left the boy but then noticed the kid's glasses on the grass. Ipicked them up and handed them to the boy. 

Instantly, the boy was up and exclaimed "Sorry!" before gathering his books and running again to catch up to his friend. 

I frowned and started to think about how stupid the kid was that he wasn't watching where he was going. But then I remembered that I really wanted to try and control my thoughts because of two things: one, was that my shields, which weren't all that great in the first place, would lower even more and sudden bursts of bad temper sparked Schuldig's curiosity. Two, I just wanted to stop thinking like that all together because I had been trying to change my habits. 

Honestly, I didn't know what made me want to change my outlook on the world. It was much easier just to hate the whole world, but that hate seemed to be dissapearing recently. Was it because of my interactions with my classmates? I didn't know but I did know that I wasn't sure if the missing hate was a welcome feeling. 

I had tried to get it back, but every day I spent in school, I started breaking a little, bit by bit. I could tolerate those swarming girls a lot better than I could on the first day, and I didn't know when it happened but I stopped mentally degrading my classmates who asked for my help. Then just two days ago, I actually helped them! 

I believed it was just as much a shock to me as it was to the guy when I sighed, put my work aside and asked,"What don't you get?" 

I usually just ignored my classmates or said that I didn't quite understand the concept either. After helping the boy though, I realized that the problem was that the teacher didn't explain things clearly enough so not many of his class could actually grasp what was being taught. Of course I already knew some of what was being taught and I read ahead in my books when I was bored. 

I didn't go to movies or to the mall like all the other teens, so I had lots of free time to spare. Ah yes, how easy it was to get sidetracked. I spend so much of my time thinking that I rarely spoke, but that also ensured that when I spoke, I got attention. I did not say things haphazardly, having learned from Estet that one wrong word could get you killed. Besides, I liked to think about things to say so that I didn't sound as stupid as everyone else. 

Well there I went...degrading again. I focused my attention back to the teacher and managed to figure out some more of the Physics assignment. The class was done relatively quick and without homework because of the assignment about Physics and space. 

I paid better attention in my next class, as I always did, compared to Physics. I was good at Math because of my training with computers. In computers there were certain ways of doing things, exactly like formulas, and you had to take it step by step to make sure you make no mistake. And I never forgot how to overcome any obstacle after dealing with it, which is what I applied to Math 10. 

Then came lunch, which I ate relatively alone. Of course the girls surrounded me after I was done, nothing could change that. _If I wasn't so eager to get them away from me, I might have been flattered._

Once the girls finally dispersed, I headed for the library, which was where I spent my lunch hours when I wasn't doing some work on the school computers. I picked through books in the fiction section. While I read mostly realistic fiction, once in a while I read some humorous short stories or some science fiction/fantasy. I really didn't see much point in fantasy like the magical kind. I had no belief in them and certainly stopped believing in so called 'happy endings' a long time ago. 

I couldn't help but feel a bit bitter about it. Just a bit, then the feeling was gone. I was raised to the fact that you couldn't change the past, but you can change the future. So I had accepted my past without much of a fight and set about to changing my future. And I certainly couldn't do that just sitting in my room learning more ways to hack and going out once every now and then to kill people. 

That's what set me apart from others, from my peers. In a casual conversation with someone asking, "What do you do in your spare time?" I would answer "Oh, practice hacking, think, and kill people." A definite conversation ender. In fact, I laughed quietly to myself just thinking about it. 

After lunch came my least favourite subject: Physical Education, in short, Gym. As much as I didn't get Physics, I found it interesting, and anything interesting may be worth my time. But Gym required physical exertion, and I knew how to get by with my brain, but certainly wasn't known for my brawn. Everything I did that required me getting tired, I used his telekinesis to do, but I couldn't very well use them here. 

I had never been quite so athletic, I found all the work tiring and I just wasn't built for it. I had a small frame which may be useful only in getting out of tight places. But then that was only useful if I was actually conscious enough to get away. 

On my first gym class, the subject was football because the season was already midway started. I took one look at all those well built jocks and suddenly panicked for one of the first times in my life due to not being able to do anything. Before, when I faced an enemy with advantage of size, which was mostly everyone, my power took care of them with a few tosses to the wall. Here I had to tough it out like every other kid that did not have the physical build to put up with it. 

Of course, all that pep talk didn't really help because one second after I got passed the ball, the people from the opposing team tackled me. I was sent to the nurse's office after being found close to losing consciousness. I found it degrading and humiliating that I could barely stand up and one of the guys that tackled me had to help me walk. 

Degrading yet **again**. Old habits die hard, especially if you're trying to change the way you think. It did make me feel a whole lot better when three more people joined me because of being tackled. At least I wasn't the only one that couldn't take it. The good thing was that at class the next day, the teacher felt some shame that the new kid got sent to the nurse the day he arrived, so she said I could sit out for this one and just review the game to get a hang of it. 

And did I review. I was used to seeing patterns in behaviours and see strategy plans so that I could come up with a plan to counter it. I calmly took in the strategy of the other team and found some flaws quickly. All of the well built guys came after the one with the ball, causing the person to panic and not think straight. If the person knew that, then all they had to do was pass the ball to an open person and that person would have minimal opposition because it took time to get out of a stockpile. 

The next time I played, I played it safe and took over the role of strategist for the team. That way I had a position that would shield me from harm and not to mention, get me better grades. The teachers always loved someone who could think of ways to improve themselves, and I was one of those people. Not to mention that I could never stand being on the losing team, so since I couldn't switch, I set about to improving my team. 

The opposition didn't know what hit them. They had to scramble for other strategies because they knew that their current one was failing badly. Yet, after one game, I was delayed talking to the teacher and after I was finished, some guys from the other team came over and walked with me. 

One of them raised his hand behind my back and I was ready to defend myself when the boy started congratulating me. I was so confused that I stumbled on the ground a bit. I silently wondered why they were being nice to me, they did lose after all. Maybe they wanted to know my secret or pretend to befriend me so that they could hurt me later on. 

But they had done nothing to me and every game after was like that, until I started to relax. I decided I couldn't base everyone around myself and people I knew that were like that. They were good sportsmen and I started to actually admire them for that. They soon became as close to friends as I would let them and they invited me a couple of times after school to go places with them. After turning their invitations down for around two weeks, I finally relented out of mild confusion and bewilderment that no matter how many times I said no, they would just keep asking me. 

I had actually enjoyed my time with them and spent the time talking about subjects. I was still closed off though and spoke only when asked questions. It had taken them another week to get me to start some conversations and then even some more time to ask questions myself. 

I did, however, shy away from mentions of my private life and home. All they knew was that I lived with some guardians after my parents died. I said it too bluntly though, so they were surprised and also sorry they asked. I thought that they would just pity me and leave me alone, yet the opposite happened. Some of them also came from broken families and had dealt with a death of a parent. 

I continued to be amazed at them and then that amazement changed to a form of respect. These guys decided the same as I did, that the past couldn't be changed, but they also decided that you didn't have to dwell on it either. Dwelling on it just made you bitter. They viewed the past as unchangeable events that they could learn from so that they don't make the same mistakes. 

_And people view jocks as airheads._

-~*~- 

Now, I came to gym looking forward to seeing my 'friends' but not looking forward to the current unit of floor hockey. Another contact sport. If I wasn't sideswiped by the bodies, I'd surely fall because of the sticks. I was usually playfully teased by them about my size, that I seemed out of place when all the people I hung with were usually twice my size. I figured that they were just teasing though and it was only playful banter. They were careful not to stress it too much, and they made up for it by occasionally praising my strategic skills. Now some of them were on my team so he could show them my skills and help them. 

This gym class however the teacher, Tawaka-sensei, announced something. She said that school teams were free to be tried out for by those interested and that all they had to do was sign up with her. 

"Come on Nagi, come join with us!" They had all rallied for me to join and asked me as soon as the teacher finished her announcement. 

"Well," I thought that I probably wouldn't do good, but I realized that they weren't asking because I would do good physically, they were asking because I was a good strategist and because I was their friend. "Fine," I answered them and they all cheered then steered me to the signout sheet. 

As I was signing my name, I was thinking, _What had I gotten myself into?_

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** A/N:** Sorry if it's a bit confusing after switching from present to past without flashbacks. I am just not very good at them. I thought it better to write everything as if he is reflecting. Flashbacks give me the sense of making up scenes, and scenes require talking, and dialogue shows how lacking I am at the subject. I try not to do too much dialogue, or first person point of view because I need to brush up on ways to make those interesting. I do realize that I really need to do dialogue or the story will fall flat. 

I am such a hypocrite. I know but do not do... ^-^;; 

I hope you enjoyed this chapter, any further questions please put in reviews or e-mail me at: **hellsdarktenshi@hotmail.com** and I will address them. 


	2. Just A Tiny Smile

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**Title:** Love's Strategy - A Game of Hide and Seek  
**Author:** Hell's Dark Tenshi  
**E-mail:** hellsdarktenshi@hotmail.com  
**Disclaimer:** Does not belong to me  
**Warning:** Shounen-ai, violence later on  
**Summary:** Nagi is starting to see life at a different perspective, will he try to give life a second chance? And would he accept a friendship that could change his life around? Nagi POV  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Notes:** Second chapter, Nagi thinks more about his life and also tries to learn a new sport. 

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Chapter 2 - Just A Tiny Smile 

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The rest of the class passed with relative ease. I managed to avoid blows that would knock me unconscious. My friends had been so kind as to teach me the different ways that someone could catch a player off balance by pure mistake. 

_Wait a minute,_ I paused in the sidelines for a moment, _when did I start referring to them as my friends? _ Surely it had been a mistake on my part. Then I thought over the freelance way the word seemed to fit in with the sentence. I realized what I'd been trying to deny for some time...They really were my friends because they cared about me. 

Schwarz were also my friends in a different way. They were my partners in everything, and also my family above all. I got by because they chose to take me in. They needed my talents as much as I needed them. Now, in my new found friends, I found a different need, the need to belong in a normal society that had rejected me so long ago. The need to experience what was deprived of me in my childhood years. 

_Childhood...I am still a child._ It just seems that I am so old and mature because I have seen more deaths than twenty others might see in a lifetime. I knew that I was different from them, yet a part of me wanted to try this. 

For the second time in my life, I gave into this desire. The first time was with Tot. The little Schreient girl who had amused me with her childishness. While I had grown too fast inside, she had grown too slow, both because of what we had seen. I spent some time with her and grew to a sort of bond to her. She balanced me out. Yet she was also so dangerous. I had fancied myself in love with her, yet looking at it now, I saw that what I felt was that desire again. To care for someone, and I did, I cared for her like she was my best friend or sister. At that time, when I kissed her, I thought that yes, maybe I could fulfill her dreams. 

But love? No. I had not loved her. Even in a sibling sort, I had no love for her. Yes, I cared, but that was as far as it went. I didn't know how to love back then, and I still didn't. 

Someone came into my line of vision, "Are you alright Nagi?" The tone was a bit concerned. Concerned? For me? For my well being? An alien feeling surged inside of me, oddly, one of joy and satisfaction. That what? That I was cared for? Yes, that was it. 

I realized that I had started to worry the person, so I turned my head slightly and replied "Yes, I'm alright." The guy suddenly smiled and both of us started walking together. 

-~*~- 

After the last period of the day, which was my option Music, I joined the rest as they headed to the shop they usually went to. 

They were a bit loud and cheerful, as usual, and one of them started talking about gym. "Finally, you signed up for the team, now you can see everything you've been missing!" The statement was directed at me and I nodded my head in acknowledgement. 

"What have I been missing?" I decided that I might as well humour them. "Why don't you tell me?" 

Naoto, the guy who had been concerned for me earlier on, cracked a big grin and replied, smiling, "Well, we'll be practicing after school, we'll also play other schools." He paused to take a sip of his soft drink, then continued, "Since floor hockey is a relatively long season, extending until some time after winter break, the schools close to ours decided to make it more fun." 

"We're gonna partner up with another school," another guy interrupted when Naoto took another drink. This guy's name was Hinashi, but everyone called him Hashi to shorten it. "Then we'll play with that school all the way through until the finals. There are two identical trophies that are handed out to the two schools that win the finals together. It was really an exercise to bring all the schools together after they saw how competitive everyone was getting, but the students enjoyed it so they just kept it. It shows school spirit to be able to work with a school that normally you rival against." Now he took a deep breath, having run out after saying so much. 

Naoto beat him back for continuation, mainly as a sign that he didn't appreciate being interrupted, "They rotate the schools every year, and I believe this year, we're paired with Toshima High School. I have friends going there and they're also boasting of an unbeatable team. This would be a fight to remember!" 

"Well with Nagi and our skills, we'll make quick competition of the other schools!" There was a cheer that followed this exclamation and the guy continued, "We'll hit them so hard that they'll land on their asses with their wheels in the air!" Obviously, they just wanted to play for fun, but if they could win while they're at it, why not? 

A sudden realization hit me at the mention, "What do you mean wheels?" I was almost afraid to ask, because I was sure I knew the answer. 

Hashi patted me on the back. "Yeah, wheels. You know? Like rollerblades?" I did know, and that was what I was afraid of. 

I chose to take a small bite of my snack and took a sip of my tea, before I calmly put my glass down and replied, "I do not know how to rollerblade." It was a simple statement that stopped the talking, and I continued, "Furthermore, I have never been on rollerblades before," I was just studying their faces now, "and I'm not exactly sure that I wan--" 

"--don't worry!" Naoto was the first to talk after the silence, conveniently interrupting my protest. "We'll teach you! I myself only learned this summer! We'll make a sport out of you yet!" 

Everyone started talking again and I replied more to myself, "That's what I was afraid of." 

No one seemed to notice or paid any heed to what I muttered. "Well, why don't you come to the roller rink tomorrow after school?" Naoto asked me when they were preparing to leave the shop. "Everyone needs to brush up on their skills anyways, and I also need the practice." 

I thought that since it was in the afternoon, I guessed it was okay. Tonight I would be taking care of one of the three key rival groups that could take Schwarz out with planning, but not if Schwarz surprised them and killed them first. If I was going to be tired, that would be in the morning during Physics. I would probably be well awake by Music since the teacher believed experience was the best teacher. "Fine," I agreed almost reluctantly, the worse that could happen was that I'd make a fool of myself. "Where is it?" with that said, I felt a sense of anticipation for tomorrow, but at the same time, I still didn't think I'll do that good. 

-~*~- 

"Well, look who decided to grace us with his presence," a familiar voice drawled at me, "any smarter yet?" Schuldig said the last part with a smirk. 

The door closed behind me and I ignored Schuldig. Everyone in the house knew that I was going to school. To further my knowledge, I had told them. It was true, besides, how would I explain that maybe I was wrong about the world? Schuldig would probably laugh at me, Farfarello really wouldn't care and I suspected that Crawford had found that I seemed to be different, but hadn't said anything on it. 

As I was heading up the stairs, the door slammed behind me, signifying that Schuldig left to waste time until the night's mission. Speaking of which, I might as well make sure everything was ready. I checked on the transmitter bugs that had to be carefully installed tonight. It was because many of Estet's groups and also the curious people would be milling there after the deaths and we needed to hear all the viewpoints to find out where they stood. 

Satisfied that all my equipment was in perfect working condition, I turned on my laptop and started working again on my Physics assignment. I managed to get more information than I had in the past two days of the weekend. I must have really been distracted to have missed these sites...Well I had been thinking about how my school experience was going. 

After two hours I closed down his screen, assured that I had enough information for the entire essay. I had started to write the first paragraph in the first page out of five. I didn't want to be redundant so I was thinking about how to pose my problems without going back to refer to them too much. I was thinking all about this while I ate my dinner, pausing only once when Farfarello entered the room. 

The irishman just smiled wickedly and stated, "People will die tonight." Then continued on his way to the living room to bug Schuldig. 

After dinner, everyone gathered in the living room to have on last debriefing on the mission. Crawford set down a thick folder and began talking. 

"It seems that everything is going according to plan for us," his smile was more of a smirk, "we should be able to take care of them quite easily." With that, we headed towards the car and drove off into the black of night. 

-~*~- 

Upon arriving, we went to our assigned places. I was stationed to make sure that the guards didn't alert anyone until the designated time. I made it inside then set about to planting the bugs. My last stop was the main room that the group met in. It could be called an office if it wasn't for the fact that it was much more highly guarded. 

I thought that this group deserved to die anyways. They even had to hire guards to protect them, how pathetic, they were supposed to be killers. But then if they entrusted their lives to some strangers, it really wasn't my problem. 

I met the others in the hallway before the door. Farfarello charged into the door with an almost inhuman yell. We took it as a signal and attacked at the same time. 

I found the found the group in a mild state of shock and panic, but they quickly snapped out of it upon seeing me. One of them charged me and I dodged then used my powers to make the man slam into the wall behind me. I detachedly remembered seeing one of my friends do that to make their opponent slam into someone from their own team. Of course, they didn't have the powers I had. 

Farfarello appeared behind two that remained and executed them in a bloody finish. Personally, I didn't really see the significance of slicing the victims into tiny little pieces, but since it satisfied and kept Farfarello at bay, who was I to argue? I had experienced times before when the wild Irishman was restless and it took more of my power to put him in his room. 

We would let Farfarello out at meal times and some hours before nights so that he had access of the house, but he was not let outside. Farfarello didn't seem to mind as long as no one took away his knives or threatened him. 

I stopped thinking about the subject as I climbed the steps to go to my room. I quickly changed out of my clothes and into my pyjamas. My last thought before sleep took over was a command to my biological clock to wake me before my alarm clock. 

-~*~- 

I dragged myself away from Physics class. I headed to the water fountain and splashed myself with a few drops of water to wake myself up. I would just be glad of the time when Schwarz finally stopped fighting and killing. Then, and maybe then, I may have a chance to live a normal life anew. 

All through Math I kept thinking about my previous engagement to meet at the roller rink. I was really starting to regret my decision. Come to think of it, I'd look really ridiculous in rollerblades. I usually stood straight and composed. I would probably look extremely silly trying to fight for my balance. 

In Gym, I tried my best to pay attention. It certainly wouldn't do to get into an accident. I decided then and there that I actually look silly doing anything other than standing or running. Ducking or jumping are certain movements that I certainly wasn't used to and had no reason to do for years. _I'm too self conscious._ Though I couldn't really help it, somehow it was still hard to forget the times when I was called a freak and excluded from games all because of not being able to explain what it was that I was able to do. People's natures tend to cause them to be scared of that which they couldn't explain. Even though I knew that, only now did I start to actually think about it and let go of some bitterness. 

I had been thinking about my life in general. And especially, about my future. I knew that I didn't want to grow up following orders from some Estet person so I had helped get rid of them. And then what? What would I do? I could now have a chance at finishing school and getting a job. While I would never fully fit in, I had grown to accept that, I wouldn't have to estrange myself from everyone else. 

I shook my head slightly at the turn my thoughts were taking. I decided it best to just concentrate on the game. I was still trying to get the grasp at shooting when the whistle blew, and I headed to the change rooms to change out of my gym clothes. 

Even though I was supposed to be the brain of the team, I was still supposed to have enough skill to help them out also. That was the part I really was lacking in. _I wonder how I'll do in rollerblades._ I almost shuddered at the thought. 

Ahh...Music. I played the flute. It was really because of the fact that it seemed to be the easiest to learn. I never really had much experience with musical instruments and had rarely ever touched one. It also didn't require as much breath as some of the wind instruments, such like a clarinet or trumpet. _Not that I'd ever try to play those instruments._ I found those types of instruments too loud, and loud noises often lead to unpleasant memories. I preferred to be able to think while I played. The flute produced liquid music, the soft kind that was gentle to the ears and head. 

Come to think of it, I would have chosen the piano except for the fact that it was harder to reach the keys because of my small fingers. And the piano already had a player anyways. I was making exceptional grades in Music. The teacher took into consideration that I was new to both the school and the class. It was in my school profile that I had never taken a music class before. 

I didn't get as much practice with my flute as I'd like because I usually just set about to reading over and learning music theory. I learned about the different notes and places. I had much better memory than my classmates, well actually, better than most people. It just seemed weird to learn about something and then forget about it a few weeks later as most of my friends seemed to do. Then, I actually understood stuff, whereas they really didn't have much interest in their studies. 

The teacher settled came in the classroom and the class started to quiet down considerably. He motioned for everyone to take their places and pick up their instruments. He then proceeded to begin the day's lesson with "I hope everyone practiced over the weekend and yesterday night." 

This is going to be the longest class of the day. 

-~*~- 

_Finally! The class has finally ended!_ I met up with Naoto at the front gate and proceeded to walk alongside of him to the roller rink. I paid the admission fee and also a rental fee for a pair of rollerblades. I found some that had buckles on them and they somewhat dug into my feet. I put them on without much of a hassle and stayed seated on the bench since I didn't want to try and stand up. 

"Here, let me help you." Naoto stood up, wobbled a bit, then straigtened up. He proceeded to come over to where I was sitting and offered his hand. I accepted and he mainly pulled me up with his strength. I had this dreadful feeling of unstability when I was up. I was still leaning on his arm so that I didn't fall and furthermore I wasn't sure that I could stand up straight without falling back, so I didn't. 

Soon some other guys skated over to us and started my lesson. "First you really should try to stand up straight," the person who said that started slowly pushing me up, "Naoto here has got you. You don't have to worry about him dropping you. 

"Try it, there, that's better." Another one encouraged me. So soon, after a few minutes of fussing, I was left standing there on my own. They all leaned back and smiled as if it was some great accomplishment, then they promptly crowded around me again. They held onto my arms and steered me to the rink. I went along as stiff as a log, without moving my feet because they were pushing and pulling me anyways. 

After more coaxing, a few more bruises than I thought necessary and two hours of crammed lessons, I was doing alright. I can manage to move without falling, move while standing in the correct position, turn, glide, stop and fall. I couldn't believe that I had to learn how to fall. But then, they were correct and I didn't fight with them. 

"Ano...can we please take a break?" I asked in the voice that I could muster. I spent most of those hours letting out startled sounds when I fell because I really wasn't used to it. I had to keep concentrating on not using my powers for once, which proved to be a bit harder than actually learning to rollerblade. It was because I was so used to putting my powers to use as a defense against anything that could hurt me physically. 

"Fine," Hashi agreed, and I let out a tiny sigh of relief, "you're doing good Nagi, I knew you were a fast learner. You're just like Naoto, didn't really give us much trouble when he learned." We headed to the concession to buy drinks to refresh ourselves. I acknowledged the compliment with a nod and sat down before I fell. 

"Why don't we meet here again tomorrow?" The voice came from a boy called Haji, "Nagi-kun seems to be doing fine and we can teach him to go even faster!" 

I was a bit shocked at the suffix added to my name, but I didn't really show it. I supposed it was fine anyways. Haji turned to me and I replied, "That's fine, I'll try to learn enough before we meet the other school." I paused, then continued, "When are we meeting them?" 

"Next week, Tuesday evening," Naoto answered my question then grinned, "we're going to Toshima and we get to eat there. It's mainly an evening to get acquainted. After that, we'll be meeting every day after school for practice." 

"Wow, he remembered all that!" exclaimed Hashi laughing. "He does have some hope!" Everyone burst out laughing at that statement. "And would you look at that! Nagi-kun's smiling!" 

Indeed, I was. I hadn't really realized it, but a tiny smile had settled across my face. I was just somewhat happy to be here with them. Maybe, I've found my place...And my smile widened just a bit more. 

* * *

**A/N:** Another day, another chapter...umm...actually it's another three weeks, another chapter...hehe? I changed it to Nagi's POV because I decided it was much better that way. I can really get into the character the way I can't with third person or omniscent point of view. Please tell me if I made any mistakes such as referring to Nagi as "he, him, his or himself" rather than "I, me, my or myself" I caught the mistakes most of the times, but I think some slipped. The first chapter was originally in omniscent so I had to change the words and sentence structure. Again, please point out any mistakes! 

Well, I am going to start school soon, but I hope to get the third chapter before school starts. I won't be on the computer as much at the beginning of the school year at September. Pardon me, but I don't know how the school system works in Japan. I'm kinda going with North America here. 

Oh yeah, and I just want to say that I myself had never tried rollerblading until Grade 7, and I managed to learn very well in one day. My friends taught me at a birthday party. 

If you have any questions or comments, please put them in reviews or e-mail me at ** hellsdarktenshi@hotmail.com** and I will address them. 


	3. Meeting Allies And Enemies

* * *

**Title:** Love's Strategy - A Game of Hide and Seek  
**Author:** Hell's Dark Tenshi  
**E-mail:** hellsdarktenshi@hotmail.com  
**Disclaimer:** Does not belong to me  
**Warning:** Shounen-ai, violence later on  
**Summary:** Nagi is starting to see life at a different perspective, will he try to give life a second chance? And would he accept a friendship that could change his life around? Nagi POV  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Notes:** Third chapter, Nagi visits Toshima High School... 

* * *

Chapter 3 - Meeting Allies...and Enemies 

* * *

I opened my eyes and struggled out of my chair. It seemed that for just this one time, I actually fell asleep in Physics. _There was a first time for everything, and at least Yoki-sensei didn't catch me._ I should be more cautious though, I might actually get caught one day and the last thing I need was detention. 

In Math I confirmed to one of my friends, Koteri, that I would show up at the rink this afternoon. Unfortunately, I didn't have this class with either Naoto or Hashi because I was taking an advanced course. Those two were really good friends and they always joked in a way that made me want to laugh. 

The teacher came in with the announcement, "Since you should all have done your homework yesterday, this test should be no problem. Correct?" 

There was a collective groan from various people around the classroom. I, of course, had read over this unit some days ago and was quite familiar with it too. Once the papers were handed out, my suspicions were confirmed. I believe that I'll get top marks in this class too. 

At lunch, I went to the computer room to help finish setting up the computers. There were so many computers that this was proving to be a long task. The school board must be getting richer judging from the quality and quantity of the computers. 

Haji had invited me to come and hang out with them during lunch, but again, I declined. I rarely had the chance to go to the library, so I went during lunch. And when I wasn't in the library, I was at the computer lab. 

_I have gym next._ That main thought occupied my mind. It wasn't too much of a bother though, because I could set up these computers with little to no effort. I also set up these computers for a different reason other than I put forth. It would prove to be useful to know the layout and devices of the computers for future reference. In case I wanted to get information. 

But then again, school computers rarely had that much security. To me anyways. To an amateur trying to break the securities to alter their grades, it could prove to be a challenge. The bell rang just as I was on the second last row of computers. I stood up and left immediately, I did not like wasting my time. 

In Gym, I listened to Tawaka-sensei explain moves and techniques. She made it a point to teach little by little so that we had more time to practice each skill. I wondered what the season after floor hockey was. I was a bit concerned over the fact that it may be something that didn't require groups. Maybe something like tennis or badminton. When it came to actually physically hitting with force, I certainly didn't hit hard enough. I did make it a personal goal not to use my powers so that I could prove to myself that I could pass without cheating. 

I guess that was another thing. I did not take the easiest ways out of doing hard work. I always used my powers to help me in hard situations, but it may not be very wise to use it here. I knew that I'd get hell from Crawford if I exposed my powers to anyone. 

I was really starting to get the hang of the skill at the end of the period. To think, I'd have to this in rollerblades. Maybe someone would be kind enough to save me from making a complete fool of myself, if I'm lucky. If not, then I probably won't even see those guys from the other school after the season anyways. I had to play a mandatory of two games, everyone had to who had joined. Then, if you want to, you may play some more. _I don't think I'll take up that offer anytime soon._

Music was an...interesting...experience today. Someone, somehow switched the notes of the band. The ones that were kept at school anyways. I had mine with me, so I still had my papers intact. The piece the trumpets were supposed to play went to the clarinets and saxophone. The clarinets' piece went to the flutes and the cellos. And so on and so forth... 

-~*~- 

"Is it so necessary to go this fast?" I asked while standing up with my rollerblades on my feet. "We still have the week left." 

"Since you already have the basic hang of it, we decided to incorporate the hockey part into it." Hashi was standing and watching the players skate around the rink. 

I had met up with them after school, but instead of going to the public rink, we went to a different part of the building. It seems they had booked this rink to practice. There were nets at either end of the rink, which was as big as the gym we'd be playing in. _At least I'm not playing ice hockey._ I'd probably end up with more bruises, not to mention that it would be cold and ice was far more slippery than polished hard wood floors. 

I was handed a stick and I spent some minutes going around the rink while holding the stick in the proper position. I was then supposed to learn how to pass. It seems that when I passed the puck, _ what a weird name, hard to pronounce; probably American,_ Newton's law of inertia came into play. I was supposed to keep skating while passing to help keep my balance. It took the rest of the two hours there to learn how to aim properly while skating to keep away from other players. I wonder if they expected me to have three sets of eyes, one to watch where I was going, one to watch the puck and the last to watch where I'm passing. 

It was now six in the evening and I should be getting home. I politely declined their invitation for dinner. I gathered my school bag and headed out the door. The sun was starting to fade over in the far horizon. The days were getting shorter as winter drew closer. I stopped and watched the colours that were reflected upon the sky. Beautiful purples mixed with various hues of red, yellow and orange. It provided for one calming and lovely picturesque scene. 

Well, now I'm starting to use words like picturesque and lovely. Then, it just seemed right, that so wonderful a scene be described by equally worthy words. I went into the house and into my room, pausing once again just to announce my presence. 

That day, one of the the team's players was really down. It seemed that he just broke up with his girlfriend that he'd been dating for some time. I didn't know why my friends wanted to date. I couldn't see what they thought was so special about sharing your life and time with another person. In the end, they always leave you. 

Though actually, Tot didn't leave me. I left her. I decided it was for the best back then to sever any contact with her because she distracted me from my work. As Crawford reminded me, I had to get back at the society that had hurt me. My place was with Schwarz then, and still with them now. I did not resent Crawford at all for slapping me or saying those things. They were the right things to say at the time. 

I still knew where Tot was now. I had been keeping track of her, watching over her just mainly out of curiosity. She was currently living with a family, an elderly couple that took interest in her _amusing_ personality. They knew nothing of her past and from what I could observe, it seems she didn't remember. Or she buried it inside her to never talk about it again except with her darling Rabbi-chan. 

Then, maybe she didn't want to remember. She was doing much better under this couple's care. They showered her with affection and helped her get through life. She was attending school and getting average grades. Being in this family was good for her and I didn't want to take it away from her. In my opinion, she suffered enough, she deserved some breaks. 

Still, many people have left me in my life to prove my thoughts. My parents certainly left me. They left me when I was very young and then all the kids from the neighbourhood called me names and insulted me. If my friends wanted to break their hearts, then that was their problem. I saw no point in the whole romantic saying "It's better to have loved and lost than never to have loved at all." 

I could get the message: it's better to have found love, felt what it's like and then have lost it, rather than never having felt love ever. And as much as I didn't want to admit it, this scared me a bit. Is love really that wonderful that people spend so much of their times looking for their soulmates? What is being loved anyways? 

I concentrated on my Physics assignment and managed to finish up to the fourth page in...I looked at the clock, it read 8:30...two hours. Time to eat dinner, I needed to eat more now that I was actually doing some physical activity. I went to the kitchen and found Schuldig there. _Great, just great._ I didn't feel like talking that much, so I went about preparing my meal while completely ignoring him. Just in case though, I checked my mental shields, they were doing fine as far as I could tell. 

Apparently, Schuldig didn't like being ignored, and he was probably here to annoy me with his presence. "How's school?" He sat there with that face that said he was in the mood for twenty questions. 

"Fine." My reply was short and I saw no need to elaborate on it. I sat there silently while willing Schuldig to go away. If he got bored enough, he might just leave me alone. 

"I believe your school doesn't end at 6:00, care to enlighten me to what you've been doing?" Obviously, he was not leaving. 

"None of your business." I was halfway through my meal by now because I didn't eat very much. "If I wanted you to know, I would have told you already." 

"I know...!" I forgot, the problem with Schuldig was that he would make up embarassing theories if he wasn't given an answer. "You're dating! Aww...you're growing up so fast!" He said the last part in a sickeningly sweet voice. And with what he said, I almost got sick. 

"No..." I finished my meal and put the dish in the dishwasher, "I am not seeing anybody." I then left the room before he decided to push even harder on the subject. He was very stubborn at times, or actually, all the time. 

I went back to my room and managed to finally finish my Physics assignment. At least I don't have Physics next semester, my schedule was History, English, Math 20 Advanced and Art. I wasn't too sure about Art, it was picked out for me because the class wasn't full yet. English I already knew quite a lot because of living with Crawford for 7 years. He said that it would be helpful to learn one of the most widely spoken languages. 

I was supposed to meet tomorrow afterschool for practice yet again and then I had to get home to prepare for that night's mission. 

-~*~- 

The week passed by relatively quick. I was managing to do fine in floor hockey, at least the skating and passing parts, though most of the time I couldn't really shoot the puck in the net. After two days, they decided my best position would be forward. I would probably get hurt because I'm in the thick of the game, but if I were defense, it would look really silly to have me against someone who is two times taller and three times heavier. I would probably hurt even more, so I took the lesser of the two evils. Goalie was not even thought about since there were already a few good goalies in our group and we didn't have to worry about running out. 

I had a fitful sleep the night before the meeting with Toshima. What if it was just another opportunity to be shown that I would never be able to fit in with everyone else? To have that knowledge thrown back into my face would be one of the most fearful things I could think of. I started tossing and turning; my nightmares progressively got worse during the night and soon, in my dreams and in the real world, I started crying. 

"Nagi, Nagi?" I heard someone calling my name and I soon found my way back to reality. When I opened my eyes, I was greeted by the sight of Schuldig leaning over my face. He pulled back as I sat up in my bed. 

"Schuldig?" I was still a bit sleepy and I didn't know what he was doing in my room. 

"Are you alright?" he asked me. It was strange to hear it from him because he had never really shown his caring side before. 

I managed a slight nod and then sank down into my bed. I saw him pull up the covers over me and then ruffle my hair. "Guten nacht, chibi." He said good night to me and I was too tired to protest the nickname. As I drifted off to sleep, I thought I felt him kiss my forehead then whisper, "I'll make sure you don't have anymore nightmares." 

-~*~- 

The next day, as I made my way downstairs, I thought about the night before. My recollection was vague, but I could have sworn that I saw a side of Schuldig that not many had seen. The thoughts about last night led to thoughts about my nightmares. I must have been worried and thinking about the subject to some level to dream about it. I usually didn't have many dreams that I could remember, and mostly I only remembered my nightmares. 

I fixed my breakfast and left for school, deep in thought. I handed my Physics assignment as soon as I got into the classroom. It was due tomorrow, but I had already finished it so I decided to hand it in. I listened for a while to Yoki-sensei talk to the class about the assignment that was due tomorrow. 

In Math class, I said a brief hello to Koteri and sat down to think some more. This was getting to be too monotonous, it seemed that all I am doing nowadays is thinking about myself and my meeting. At least the meeting would be over tonight. I can get over the nervousness that had been mounting in my stomach. 

At lunch, I visited the library since I was done with the basic maintenance of the computers. As long as nothing goes wrong, I wouldn't be back in the computer room for some time. I skimmed the titles in the fantasy section, none of them catching my attention until my gaze landed on a book that was titled in English. I pulled the book out to get a closer look at it and saw that it was hardcover. There were gold designs on the front page and it was a pretty thin book. On the spine, the title simply read "Love". There was no indication of an author or publishing company. The book intrigued me and I made my way to the seats in the library holding the book in hand. 

I opened the book and turned the page; the title was simply printed again, "Love". I found myself suddenly eager to read. Why would anyone write something like this, with no acknowledgement? Maybe the person decided that it was better to remain anonymous. The next page contained a poem. It was in handwriting, and the letters were in gold. The edges of the pages were also gold. The poem read: 

_ ** Loving Me**_

Thank you for everything  
Thank you for being there   
Thank you for showing me  
Just how much that you care

You have always been there  
To heal my broken heart  
To assuage my deep hurt  
From being far apart

I love the way you hug  
I love the way you kiss  
And wherever you go  
It is you I will miss

So to sum it all up  
As best as it can be  
Thank you ever so much  
Thank you for loving me

There must have been some mistake. This book looked like it didn't belong in the fantasy section. Then again, I hadn't even read much other than the poem. The next page half filled with writing on the bottom half. The top half of the page contained the number "1". I started reading the page with a curiosity I rarely displayed. 

_ What is love anyways? It is not a substance that has mass, nor anything that may be seen. It is a feeling. But what type of feeling? It is not easily described or analyzed. Does Love take conscious thought? Or does it take a hold of a deeper subconscious part of the brain? Love, some people say, is a euphoria. But I beg to differ. Love never can flourish healthily under overconfidence or over-optimism. And yes, Love can hurt so very much. It may bring such great pain that it may shatter you from inside out. It may cause you to lose any sense of self control and make you do things that you normally would not. Love was created pure for good purposes. Yet, it has somewhat been corrupted. Many thoughts, feelings, even things, are mistaken for Love, but none of them are the true Love. So many are confused to what the meaning of Love is, that there may not be one actual correct answer. _

So the pages that follow, are of my account, about what Love means to me. I am though, but one person, and therefore, am limited in view. If taken a fancy upon, or caught unaware, by this book, then surely, my view can be added upon and therefore, be one step closer to complete. Told about true experiences, lessons learned, loves lost and gained, and the meaning of Love to the person. 

I closed the book as I saw that it was time to go to my next class. I thought about what I read on the first page, it had me intrigued. I borrowed the book out of the library so that I could read it later on. I took it to my locker and just finished taking out my change of clothes for Gym when Naoto came up to me. 

"How are you getting to Toshima?" He asked me. 

"I'll walk there." I said, while going to the change room. 

"So am I," Naoto talked while we were changing. "Do you want to meet here at around 6:45 and then walk there together?" 

"That sounds fine to me," I finished changing and headed out to the gym. "I'll see you there." 

We spent the time before the teacher called order to talk about our meeting night. We were going to meet there at around 7:00 and then everyone from both teams would be introduced. After introductions then we were free to socialize over food and drinks. That sounded like a plan to me. Since we were going to play together with them for the whole season, might as well get along together. 

-~*~- 

That afternoon, after school, I sat in front of my computer and did more assignments. I didn't really want to admit it, even to myself, but I was actually a bit nervous over meeting the other team. There would be so many people there who were probably (make that certainly) larger than me and I would probably feel out of place too. 

I frowned slightly, but the foreign expression quickly deserted my face. I shouldn't think like that. I'm sure that Naoto or Hashi or even Kotori wouldn't make me feel left out. They wouldn't stand for me being bullied either. It felt sort of...nice...to know that they would be there for me. I felt like I belonged with them. I certainly wasn't the most friendly person on the team and I didn't really socialize often, but they knew a lot about me from being with me for so long. 

I moved my backpack from across the room to float beside me as I took out the book that I borrowed from the library today. I turned to the next page from where I had left of and started reading. I was glad that I learned english because of Crawford since the page was in English also. 

_ March 25, 1945 _

I met her again. The love of my life. She is like an angel sent from heaven, her eyes are twin emeralds, her lips soft and her cheeks rosy. Her head crowned with golden waves of hair. She came from Italy the other day and stayed at our inn. Her name was Rosita Ciappino. 

Before I get too far ahead of myself and forget to explain to you who is reading this, I run an inn with my brother, Jacques. My name is Alexandre Divot and I am 20 years old. I have lived in France all of my life, in the town Versailles. It is a small town that provides little for entertainment. Our inn, La Chamere, is located near the end of town, going to Paris, the capital of France. 

I glanced at the clock, it was 6:15, I should stop reading now. I stood in front of my closet as I decided what to wear. I did not have to wear my uniform to this gathering. I decided on gray slacks and black turtleneck that was extremely comfortable. But then, all of my clothes were comfortable because I didn't see the point of buying clothes that I couldn't last long in. 

As I walked to my school, I thought about what I read. This Alexandre seemed smitten with Rosita from first sight. He also lived in France, which was halfway across the Earth from Japan. I did know a few things about France, mainly that it was famous for it's wines, and for being the land of Love. The French language was known to be one of the romance languages. I wonder what this would turn out to be like. 

I saw Naoto waiting for me at the corner and we fell in step together. We walked in silence, he knowing that I preferred not to talk much. We reached the school soon and met a lot of people from our team. 

Tawaka-sensei was talking to a middle aged woman that I could only imagine to be the other coach. There were some teens that I did not recognize, they must be from the other team. 

"Hey Naoto, Nagi," Hashi greeted us. He was standing there with a cup of juice in his hand. 

"Hi" I replied back, with a tiny smile. 

"Hey Hashi!" Naoto was more enthusiastic in his greeting. He turned to me also when he said, "Remember I said that I have friends going here?" 

I nodded and waited for him to continue. 

"Well, let's go say hi to them!" With that, Naoto proceeded to lead the way, Hashi and I following behind him. He stopped near a group of people who were talking. They turned around and they started greeting each other. "Guys, these two are Nagi and Hashi, two of my teammates" He introduced us. 

"Well, I'm Jirou," A boy with black hair and eyes said. He was taller than me by a couple of inches and but was as skinny as me. He started to introduce his friends around him. "These people are: "Kiro, Mizu, Shiro and Omi." 

I started at the name Omi. Our eyes met and held together, dark blue with light sky blue. 

* * *

**A/N:** I got it up! 

I hope this chapter was okay... ^.^ 

If you have any questions or comments, please put them in reviews or e-mail me at ** hellsdarktenshi@hotmail.com** and I will address them. 


	4. Taking The First Step

* * *

**Title:** Love's Strategy - A Game of Hide and Seek  
**Author:** Hell's Dark Tenshi  
**E-mail:** hellsdarktenshi@hotmail.com  
**Disclaimer:** Does not belong to me  
**Warning:** Shounen-ai, violence later on  
**Summary:** Nagi is starting to see life at a different perspective, will he try to give life a second chance? And would he accept a friendship that could change his life around? Nagi POV  
**Rating:** PG-13  
**Notes:** Fourth Chapter... Confrontation? Likely... **And later, in between the horizontal rules, (the lines) that is what really happened from Alexandre and Rosita's point of view!**

* * *

Chapter 4 - Taking The First Step 

* * *

I stared at the boy from Weiß for a little longer, then we were interrupted by Naoto's voice. 

"Do you two know each other?" He seemed completely unaware that the look we were giving each other wasn't one of joyed reunion. 

I regained my ability to speak. "Yes, you can say that." I looked at him purposefully as I said, "In fact, we have some catching up to do, if you would please excuse us." Without waiting for an answer, I turned and walked away, the boy following me. 

I stopped when we reached the hallway. I spun around to face him as I coldly asked, "What are you doing here?" 

"I go to Toshima High and I am in the team. Why are you here?" He retaliated back. He was frowning lightly, and I could tell that he wanted his weapons at the moment. I couldn't care less, because my weapon was my power and I could use it at any moment. 

"I go to Kagake High and I am in the team also. I have as much right as you do to be here." I looked at him then. He seemed to be thinking about what I just said. 

"Well, that means we'll be working together!" My eyes widened a bit in shock. I was his enemy and currently he was smiling at me. I then realized that what he said was true. 

"I noticed." I commented dryly. As I stated earlier, I wasn't one for losing, and if I couldn't learn to work with him, then our team may suffer. "I will work with you for this game, but do not expect anything more." 

His smile faltered. What did he think? That I would want to be his friend? Expect that of a naive child, he thinks that I can easily forget our past? He has the thought that everything's alright now? Well he was wrong. 

"I didn't expect much," he started, "but if you want to talk sometime then tell me." With that, he left and made his way back to his friends. 

Talk sometime? What did he think, that I was crazy? Why would I talk to him, he was just my enemy a few months ago. Granted that he helped defeat Estet, but that didn't mean that I was ready to trust him or even start chatting. Why would he even ask that? 

I walked back to my teammates and listened to them talk for a while. Hashi turned back to me and asked if I was alright. 

"Fine" I replied, not one for long answers. 

-~*~- 

The rest of the meeting had gone on smoothly. He and I avoided each other the whole time, not even going near each other at all. My teammates asked me if I was feeling fine, since most of the progress they had made on getting me to open up flew out the window after talking with the boy from the other team. 

After self-introduction, I went with Naoto and Hashi as I was introduced to so many people that I couldn't possibly remember them, plus my mind was still wandering a bit. This just complicated my whole life, seeing as I for sure would have to work with him. As much as I didn't like the idea, it was pretty obvious that we'd have to talk again because I learned from the people I met that he did most of the strategy for their team. 

When meeting was over, at around 9:00 in the evening, Naoto, Hashi and I started walking out. At the door, they turned and talked to me. 

"Are you sure you'd be okay walking by yourself?" Hashi and Naoto went a different way than I did to get home, so they were worried about me. 

"I'll be just fine," I assured them, "I don't live that far from here." With that, they said good-bye and walked away. As I started walking towards my house, I saw the Weiß boy again. He was walking towards my way, and noticed me just seconds after I saw him. 

"Good evening," he greeted me with a slight smile on his face, "I guess we are working together more than I expected." It seems he figured out that I was the team's strategist also. I couldn't really find a way out of it, so I talked as I walked. 

"I also figured that out." Of course, talking doesn't necessarily mean talking amicably. 

"Our next practice is tomorrow, so we should take that time and the next practices to observe how our teams work together." He just kept on walking beside me. Does this mean that he lives somewhere in my neighbourhood? 

"Fine." He had a point there, and that was what I was planning to do. I realized I had to say more than that, and continued, "We should take separate notes and then compare them to see what we both notice." It would certainly be different working with him, or anybody for that matter, since I wasn't used to working with anybody other than Schwarz. I just volunteered to spend more time with him though, but it couldn't be avoided. 

His smile grew a bit wider, "I agree with you! Maybe after practice we can go somewhere to eat!" 

Wasn't he just a bit too enthusiastic? Well, eating after practice sounded nice, since I knew that I'd have to participate a tiny bit also. "That sounds fine to me." I didn't really wait for an answer, I just turned right abruptly and walked away from him. I didn't usually go this way, but it wouldn't be nice to get too close to the house with a member of Weiß. 

"Okay! I'll see you tomorrow!" I heard him yell after me. I didn't even turn around and I continued walking until I reached the house. 

-~*~- 

When I woke up the next day, I noticed that the sun hadn't even risen, because I was an hour early. It was strange since I got to sleep at 10:00 last night. Well, if I was already awake, then there is no use to trying to sleep again, I wouldn't be able to. I got up and went through my morning routine. 

After I finished breakfast, I headed upstairs and started reading the book that was entitled "Love" from where I left off: 

_ Back to my day. I being one of the managers of the inn had some papers to attend to, and I was doing so in my office in the lobby. After working for some time, I decided to take a stroll in the gardens of our inn and greet some of the guests. It was a lovely day and many people were out walking and there was a joy in the air that lifted all the thoughts from my head. _

When suddenly, I turned a corner, and there she was. Rosita was sitting on one of the benches, reading a book. As I approached her, she laid down her book to greet me. I greeted her in return and sat down beside her. Our conversation was just general matters, but I could have sat there all day to listen to her talk. And her laugh, her laugh was a beautiful action and sound, her eyes sparkling as she would cover her mouth politely with one hand. 

At the end of our conversation I expressed the wonderful time I had in her company and my hope to meet with her again. She accepted! We are meeting again tomorrow at the same time. Ahh, life seems more vivid and joyous. 

Yours truly,  
Alexandre 

I placed the book down a bit and thought about what I just read. This Alexandre seemed to have really fallen for Rosita. His description of his feelings while talking to her seemed a bit dramatic. Would just hearing a person you like talking to you bring you any joy so great that you could just listen to them the whole day? He seems so happy that he fell in love, and he thinks that his life is all the better for just talking to her. I didn't really understand, after all, I had certainly never fallen in love before. I decided to continue reading on: 

_ April 5, 1945 _

My relationship with Rosita seemed to grow more every single day, and so has my fondness of her. I wish that she could stay here with me, but she lives in Italy and her family is there also. She came to Versailles for a little break from her home, which is at the moment so hectic because of war. There are talks of the war ending soon, and I fear our time would draw short. I spend my time with her a lot, but I have my duties to attend to. I don't know what I would do without her here with me. I certainly cannot go to Italy with her, my work is here and I cannot just leave my brother. 

There is also one other problem. Rosita is from a rich and privileged family, while I am just a commoner. She is her family's eldest child, and she has no male siblings. It means that she needs to marry someone who can help continue a rich and prosperous business. Her parents are counting on her to marry to unite their business with another to bring more profit and wealth into the family. 

I do not blame them. In uncertain times like these, times of war, I know that the families care about the well-being of their family line and name. I know that I would not be allowed to marry Rosita because of my background. Our union would bring nothing, instead, it may weigh them down. I am not poor, but I am not rich either. I have enough to live by and some extra for a few things that I like. I would not be able to support a family. It is one of the reasons that neither my brother nor I have married yet. 

I am supposed to meet her now, so I should stop writing. 

Yours truly,  
Alexandre 

I couldn't help but feel sorry for him. It seems he fell in love with the wrong person, a doomed relationship from the beginning. If I were him, I would not continue talking to her, torturing myself with her every day. She is going to leave him someday, and then what? He would just be heartbroken to a greater extent. 

I noticed that it was time for me to go to school, so I packed the book into my bag and headed outside. Except that Alexandre's dilemma never left my mind. I kept thinking about him all the way to school. It would be selfish of him to ask her to stay, not that she would because she has a duty to her family. It would be foolish of him to leave his brother and business to go to Italy, where he knows that he cannot marry her because of his social status. 

The last one was one that I really thought was the whole problem. There were so many of those cases, where social status separated those that fell in love. It was really, well, if put to a word, disheartening. I knew that there were all these people saying that you can't help who you fall in love with, but mostly, you fall in love with those that would just cause you grief. Why then, would you try and fall in love? 

My thoughts were making my head hurt, so I decided to concentrated on Physics. We were studying motion and Newton's three laws:   
1. Every object in a state of uniform motion tends to remain in that state of motion unless an external force is applied to it.  
2. The relationship between an object's mass _m_, its acceleration _a_, and the applied force _F_ is F = ma.   
3. For every action there is an equal and opposite reaction.  
Come to think of it, the first law could apply to love, couldn't it? If you were in love, you wouldn't just stop because of no reason, something must happen. That made enough sense. Though, the second could probably be applied if I knew an equation for love, but I don't, so I won't apply it. Then there was the third law. If someone fell in love, then does that mean that that person would have to suffer too? In this world, I haven't ever really seen a fairytale romance or a romance that was always so easy from the beginning. 

The bell rang and I made my way to Math, where I decided that if I was going to keep my sanity, then I had better stop thinking about love. It worked fine, until lunch, when I found my way to the library again. It really was rare that I showed this much interest in a book, but I wanted to find out what happened to Alexandre so that my imagination and thoughts would finally be at peace. 

I turned to the entry after: 

_ April 24, 1945 _

It is inevitable. Rosita has to leave soon. Her parents sent her a message, saying that she should return home so that they could help her settle down. The war is drawing to an end and as soon as the borders are clear, she should head south and return home. We are being separated, and there is nothing that I can do about it. 

I talked to Jacques about my problems, but he couldn't do much more than listen. He knows that I love her by know, and I think that he feels really sorry for he can't do anything to help me out. I told him that it was all right. I don't want him to worry about me. 

Yours truly,  
Alexandre 

That was a really sad entry. I noticed that I was showing a bit more expression than what I was used to and carefully schooled it back to my usual mask. 

_ May 8, 1945 _

Today was one monumental day. Victory in Europe was declared today and now Rosita is free to go. But the most astounding thing was that I heard the words that brought me so much happiness and so much pain... 

* * *

** May 8, 1945  
Versailles, France **

Alexandre approached the gardens slowly. He had just received news of the victory in Europe. While he was happy that the war would be over, he was saddened by the fact that he knew Rosita would have to leave. But whatever happens, he knew he had to tell her how he felt about her. He wanted her to know that he loved her. 

He saw her standing near the bench where they had met for the past weeks. He admired her again, and saw her as if he were seeing her again for the very first time. The sunlight caught her golden strands and made them shine. She turned around and he was stunned again at her beautiful emerald eyes and her pale complexion. Her red lips parted and spoke to him, and he just smiled. 

He talked to her for a while, then he turned a bit serious and faced her. 

"Rosita," he began, "I know that with the war ending in Europe, you would have to go back to your family, and I just want to make sure that you know that," here he paused, swallowed, and continued, "that, I love you." 

"Alexandre," Rosita started. 

"Please, don't say it, I know that you probably don't feel the same, but I just wanted to tell you so that you would know." Alexandre wasn't able to stand it anymore and looked to the ground. 

"Alexandre," Rosita raised his chin with her hand so he was looking into her eyes, "what I wanted to say was that, I have also fallen in love with you." 

Alexandre looked surprised. "You have?" 

"Yes, I have, and I do not regret so. I just regret that it took me this long to say it to you. I had thought that since I was leaving, I didn't want you to feel sad, so I never told my feelings, thinking that our parting would be much better, but I see that I was wrong, and that I should have spoken up sooner." Tears were running from her eyes now. "Please forgive my mistake." 

He wiped her tears away tenderly. "There's nothing for me to forgive because I made the same mistake. I realized only today that I did not want you leaving without knowing that I loved you, even if you didn't love me. That way, I can part without regretting." 

She smiled at him again. The smile that he so loved to see. "Thank you, for everything. I had a wonderful time here and I just wish that I could stay longer." 

Alexandre also smiled, but sadly so, for he knew that as much as they both wanted it, she couldn't stay. "I know you can't stay any longer than you have already, and it has been a pleasure talking to you and being in your company." He leaned in and kissed her softly. "If for any reason, you can get away from your role in the family, then you are most welcome to come back, I'll be waiting." 

"I'll try and find a way, I really will." Then they sealed the agreement with another kiss." 

When they parted ways, he went up to his bedroom, while she went to hers and packed. She would be leaving tomorrow and should get ready. Alexandre sat down at his desk and pulled out a small, hardcover book. He turned to a page and started writing: 

May 8, 1945 

Today was one monumental day. Victory in Europe was declared today and now Rosita is free to go. But the most astounding thing was that I heard the words that brought me so much happiness and so much pain... 

* * *

...she is going to leave tomorrow, and though the thought of it brings a pain to my heart, I am glad that I had told her of how I felt. If I hadn't, then I wouldn't have learned that she felt the same way. 

I should get ready, for tomorrow. I am going to make her a fine breakfast, then whisk her off to the gardens where we talked. I am going to give her a locket. Inside it is engraved: Alexandre & Rosita. To remind her of me, even when she is back in Italy. 

Yours truly  
Alexandre 

I sat there stunned for a few seconds because of the fact that my eyes were getting misty. I wiped them away and was glad that no one witnessed that. Why did that make me cry? I don't cry. I can get sad, but I haven't cried in some time. The story itself didn't make me cry, but instead, it was the emotions of Alexandre that he conveyed through his writing that reached me. I felt his deep sadness of his coming parting with Rosita, I felt his bittersweet joy at learning that she loved him too, and mostly, I felt just how content he was to see her and talk to her, to hear her laugh and watch her eyes sparkle. It was frightening. Frightening that I felt some connection towards him. But still, it confused me, all his feelings confused me. His joy of seeing her overrode his sadness at knowing she was leaving. His love was so deep and strong that it got to me, even though I thought that I was incapable of feeling those emotions. 

I headed for my locker and took out my gym clothes. I stopped outside the locker rooms. I didn't want to interrupt my thoughts so I headed outside instead of to my class. Outside, I sat on the benches that overlooked the football field where my first gym class took place, and spent my time in deep thought. 

I had never really experienced love, but through Alexandre's emotions, I think I just may know what it feels like. If love was this complicated, pain and joy at the same time, then it truly does work with Newton's third law. But to one exception. I think the ones that last are the ones that don't fit with the third law. They are the ones where the joy overrides the pain that is felt. That's when the relationship would succeed. Since when you have that much happiness, then you can bear with a little pain, for nothing is perfect. 

Then maybe, love really is all that powerful. It must be because for someone like me, who I thought was beyond all that and would never figure it out, to realize all this then it means that it is deeper than I thought it was. 

With my mind righted again, I stood up, but I didn't go back inside. Instead, I stared at the blue sky with the clouds passing by, I felt the wind as it blew my hair around, I took a breath of the fresh air outside and then, I ran. I ran through the field and felt for the first time, that I was alive, and when I stopped running, I laid down on the grass and just looked at the sky again, and smiled. 

* * *

**A/N:** Can you just imagine Nagi doing that? For once, full of life, instead of in the shadows. I really liked writing this chapter!! 

This chapter was re-uploaded... Thank you (me) hellsdarktenshi@hotmail.com and I will address them. 


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